Shekhinah and Sacred
An interesting shift in the theology of both Christianity and Judaism happens in the first few centuries CE. As the Jewish people are exiled from Jerusalem and the Christians slowly take over it, they start to trade positions on how humans could have a connection to God.
Initially, the Jewish people view the Jerusalem temple as their access to God. This is the place where the Jewish people would go to experience God's presence. Christians, on the other hand, had no such temple, so instead held the belief that God could be reached anywhere. While they acknowledged the holiness of Jerusalem, they often only focused on the heavenly Jerusalem, and not the physical, present-day Jerusalem (Armstrong 159).
However, we see a shift in this theology as the Jewish people are kicked out of Jerusalem, and Christians start inhabiting it. Suddenly, Jewish people do not have access to the temple in Jerusalem, which was their access point to God. Here we see the emergence of the belief in the Shekhinah, the presence of God, that would appear anywhere a group of Jews studied the Torah together (Armstrong 156). We see this belief of God being everywhere with Christians initially (Armstrong 171). However, as Christians start creating holy places in Jerusalem, suddenly there are places that are more sacred than others. The idea of sacred space appears in Christianity as they become more established, with certain places such as Golgotha being more connected to the divine that other places (Armstrong 183).
Jewish people still held the temple as sacred and mourn for it, but they, for the most part, could no longer worship at Jerusalem. So they have to adapt their theology and belief in the presence of God. However, the transition from God being accessible everywhere to God being more accessible in Jerusalem was not a necessity for Christians, and because of that, was accompanied with quite a bit of controversy. The disagreement over whether Jerusalem was more sacred than other places on Earth was mostly reconciled into the belief that, while the divine presence could be experienced anywhere, there were certain places where it was strongest (Armstrong 191). Overall we do see a shift as Judaism and Christianity “trade” their ideas of sacredness and connection to the spirit of God.
Initially, the Jewish people view the Jerusalem temple as their access to God. This is the place where the Jewish people would go to experience God's presence. Christians, on the other hand, had no such temple, so instead held the belief that God could be reached anywhere. While they acknowledged the holiness of Jerusalem, they often only focused on the heavenly Jerusalem, and not the physical, present-day Jerusalem (Armstrong 159).
However, we see a shift in this theology as the Jewish people are kicked out of Jerusalem, and Christians start inhabiting it. Suddenly, Jewish people do not have access to the temple in Jerusalem, which was their access point to God. Here we see the emergence of the belief in the Shekhinah, the presence of God, that would appear anywhere a group of Jews studied the Torah together (Armstrong 156). We see this belief of God being everywhere with Christians initially (Armstrong 171). However, as Christians start creating holy places in Jerusalem, suddenly there are places that are more sacred than others. The idea of sacred space appears in Christianity as they become more established, with certain places such as Golgotha being more connected to the divine that other places (Armstrong 183).
Jewish people still held the temple as sacred and mourn for it, but they, for the most part, could no longer worship at Jerusalem. So they have to adapt their theology and belief in the presence of God. However, the transition from God being accessible everywhere to God being more accessible in Jerusalem was not a necessity for Christians, and because of that, was accompanied with quite a bit of controversy. The disagreement over whether Jerusalem was more sacred than other places on Earth was mostly reconciled into the belief that, while the divine presence could be experienced anywhere, there were certain places where it was strongest (Armstrong 191). Overall we do see a shift as Judaism and Christianity “trade” their ideas of sacredness and connection to the spirit of God.
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